Redeemed (House of Night #12)(71)

Aphrodite was in the sky, looking down at a wall of clouds rolling into Tulsa. It was night, but sky lightning was flashing so often that it was illuminating the entire skyline. Nyx, I don’t mean to be a bitch, but T-Town can watch Travis Meyer and The News on 6 for a weather report. It doesn’t take a vision to clue Okies in about wicked weather—we’re down with that.

The scene shifted, focused on downtown, and something fell out of the sky. Suddenly Aphrodite wasn’t an outside observer anymore. She was inside the body as it tumbled, end over end, hurtling toward the earth below. She tried to make her wings work (wings?), but they wouldn’t obey her. She tried to brace herself, but the shock of hitting the ground reverberated throughout her body, breaking her bones. Gasping but unable to draw in air, her fading gaze found her body. There was a bloody hole where her heart should have been and her broken wings lay useless, their raven black color turning red as her life’s blood seeped from her body.

No, she thought as the mind she’d inhabited lost consciousness. Not my body. Kalona’s body!

Warn him, so that he may choose freely … The Goddess’s voice pulled her from Kalona’s dying body and was her conduit to return to herself.

“Aphrodite! Talk to us! Aphrodite!” Zoey was holding her hand. She couldn’t see her, of course, because her eyes were filled with blood, but she knew Z was there. Just like she knew Darius’s arms were around her and Stark was standing protectively over them.

“Kalona,” she gasped. “You have to take me to Kalona.”

“You need water and your bed,” Zoey said, her voice sounding shaky. “And we need to get all this blood cleaned up.”

Aphrodite knew it was bad. She could feel the warm wetness that had washed down her face and soaked through her shirt. She ignored it and squeezed Z’s hand—hard. “Afterward. Get me to Kalona now.”

“He’s somewhere walking the perimeter. I’ll find him,” Stark said.

“I’ll carry her to Nyx’s Temple. That’s the closest building to here,” Darius said.

“And I’ll stay with her,” Z said, still holding her hand even though Darius had stood and was already moving.

“And I’ll just lay here and dream about the Xanax and wine that wait for me,” Aphrodite said, resting her head against Darius’s strong shoulder, keeping her eyes shut tightly against the pounding pain.

Kalona

“Kalona! You have to come with me. Aphrodite needs you right now!” Shouting, Stark ran up to Kalona as he and Detective Marx were making a perimeter sweep and discussing options for housing the increasing number of humans who were seeking sanctuary at the House of Night. Kalona had been enjoying Marx’s company and his sense of humor, and feeling renewed and well-rested after spending time on the roof of Nyx’s Temple. Stark’s appearance changed everything.

“Has there been a breach in campus security?” Marx shot out the question.

“No, Aphrodite’s had a vision. She says she has to talk to Kalona.”

“I will go to her.” Kalona sprinted off.

“Wait!” Stark called after him. “She’s not in her dorm. She’s in Nyx’s Temple.”

That news didn’t serve to dissipate the foreboding Kalona was beginning to feel, though he changed direction and raced toward Nyx’s Temple, with Stark and the detective doing their best to follow.

He tried not to hesitate at the door of the Goddess’s Temple. He wanted to stride in, confident that Nyx would allow him, but his hand trembled as he touched the handle of the arched wooden door. He paused.

Stark almost ran over the top of him. “What’re you waiting for?” The boy flung the door wide and hurried within. Kalona held his breath and followed him.

The opening did not turn to stone, nor did the door close against him. Nyx allowed him entrance.

Now on Stark’s heels, Kalona passed through the foyer and entered the heart of the Goddess’s Temple. The sweetness of vanilla and lavender candles mixed with the metallic scent of fresh blood. Aphrodite lay on the ancient table that held an exquisite statue of Nyx. Darius sat on the table, cradling her head in his lap. Zoey was arranging a wet T-shirt over Aphrodite’s eyes, which still wept blood.

“Oh my God!” Marx rushed into the room. “She’s crying blood tears.”

“I’m not crying. I’m visioning. Big difference.” Blind Aphrodite turned her head as if she were listening. “Kalona? Are you in here?”

Aphrodite tended to alternately amuse and annoy Kalona. He’d never understood why Nyx tolerated her attitude, which always seemed to border on blaspheming. But as he approached her, a profound sense of reverence came over him. This girl is a true Prophetess of Nyx and thus worthy of my respect.

“Yes, Prophetess, I am here in answer to your summons,” he said, kneeling beside the table.

“Good. My vision was about you. Actually, in my vision I was you. And you died,” she said, wincing and rearranging the wet shirt that covered her bloody eyes.

“Kalona is immortal. He cannot die,” Darius said.

“I know you hate this kind of stuff, but could this vision be one of your symbolic ones?” Zoey asked.

“It didn’t feel symbolic. It felt dead. Real dead,” Aphrodite said.

“How was I killed?” Kalona asked.